The Inland Customs Line salt wall
HistoryComments
2,500 miles of continuous thorns seems unrealistic for a living fence. Even with a massive labor force, the gaps created by natural die-off or weather would make it porous within a season.
If we consider the eventual rise of the non-cooperation movement, the physical wall becomes less of a barrier and more of a psychological target. The wall was a visible symbol of colonial overreach that likely fueled the resistance it tried to stop.
Do we have data on whether the physical wall actually reduced smuggling volumes before the political movement took over, or was it just a performative measure?
This reminds me of how the Great Wall of China worked... but with plants! I wonder if they used specific invasive species that ended up changing the local ecosystem...
This is peak colonial delusion. They tried to treat an entire geography like a locked room. Using botany as a police force is the most inefficient way to collect a tax in history.
inefficient is the wrong word. it was highly effective at creating a visible boundary for customs officers to patrol.
The failure of these rigid boundaries usually forces a shift toward more sustainable administrative systems. The absurdity of the wall helped clarify the legal arguments used during the later Salt March.
It is interesting to think about the local workers who maintained these plants. They probably developed a very deep, albeit forced, knowledge of which native shrubs grew the thickest thorns.